Column, Bar, Line, and Area Charts

The data for these charts doesn’t require much processing, just ensure that your data is separated into columns or rows, and properly labelled. These two examples below demonstrate that you can use either a vertical or horizontal layout for your data.

Pie and Doughnut Charts

For a single data series, lay out your data in one column or row, with labels in a separate column or row.

If you’re charting more than one data series using a doughnut chart, just add another column or row containing the additional figures. Giving each series a label isn’t mandatory, but it will help you keep track of your information.

Scatter and Bubble Charts

For scatter charts, place your data for the X and Y axes in adjacent columns.

For a bubble chart, include what size you want individual bubbles to be in a further adjacent column.

Above, you can see that I’ve arranged my data in the correct format for a pie chart and highlighted the entire selection. With that done, it’s time to head to the Insert tab and click the pop-out button on the Charts section.

Once you’ve selected your desired option, Excel will create a basic version of the chart — but it’s likely that you’ll want to make some edits for yourself.

First, let’s change that title to something a little bit more informative. All we need to do is click the text once to select the text box, and another to drop our cursor into it so that we can make edits.

Next, let’s take a look at the three icons that show up on the edge of our chart when we click on it. The box with a plus symbol helps us adjust Chart Elements, like its title and its legend. Marking the checkbox confirms that these elements should be included, while clicking the small arrow will offer up some more in-depth options.

The paintbrush icon lets us adjust the chart’s color schemeHow To Pick A Color Scheme Like A ProHow To Pick A Color Scheme Like A ProColors are tricky. It might seem easy enough to pick a handful of colors that look good together, but as any designer who has spent hours tweaking shades will tell you: it's tricky.Read More, either choosing from pre-made styling templates or picking out individual shades. I’m not completely happy with the default color palette, so I’m swapping it out for a monochromatic chart.

The third icon allows us to filter the data that goes into the chart, which is particularly handy if you’re working with more than one series. However, there are plenty of other uses — below, I’ve used the tool to quickly create a chart that only looks at dessert pies.

Once you’re all set with these adjustments, we can export the chart into PowerPoint.

Transfer Your Chart to PowerPoint

Exporting your chart from Excel to PowerPoint is as easy as copying and pastingHow to Copy and Paste Even Faster in WordHow to Copy and Paste Even Faster in WordDo you copy and paste in Word all the time? Here's a faster way to get the same result.Read More it across — but there are a couple of pitfalls to avoid. Select your chart in Excel by clicking on the background, making sure that you’re not accidentally selecting a particular element, then use CTRL + C to copy the data to your clipboard. You can also right-click on its background to copy from the context menu.

Once this is done, open up PowerPoint and navigate to the slide that you want the chart to appear on. Use CTRL + V to paste the chart in place.

However, there’s one more step to complete if you want to do the job properly. While the chart might already look correct, now’s the time to make an important decision about how it’s placed in the presentation.

You can also opt to paste the chart as a picture, but this doesn’t offer any of the same fact-checking benefits as the other two. Once you’ve made this selection, you’re free to integrate the visualization into your presentation however you see fit.

Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make its Office suite work as a cohesive unit, so using individual programs in tandem can produce great result. Just consider the strengths of each of its component parts; PowerPoint is great for presenting to an audience, but working with data is definitely a job for Excel.

Do you have more questions about using Excel charts in your PowerPoint presentation? Or are you confident enough to offer help to other users? Either way, head to the comments section below to join the discussion.